Mafia Seduction
by Yaoi.4.Joo
Summary: .AU.Yaoi. Tsuna, rooky Mafioso for the Vongola IX, took the mission without even realizing what it was. It wasn’t until he was halfway across the world on an airplane that he read the details. He would have to seduce someone named Yamamoto Takeshi! 8027
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

Authors Note: The other day, I was watching this movie about mother/daughter con artist who would make men fall in love with them then take their stuff.

That made me think, what if Tsuna was a con artist? That lead to, what if Tsuna had to seduce someone?

Then _that _lead to Naughty!Uke!Tsuna molesting semes… and that just made me drool. So I was like, "Which seme would it be hottest for Tsuna to molest?" And of course… the answer was Yamamoto! Yay!

Unfortunately, Tsuna isn't very naughty in this story… okay he is, but not M rated naughtiness. Maybe 16 year old rated naughtiness, but not 17 year old rated naughtiness! XP

As a matter of fact… Tsuna and Yama are 16 and are in high school in America because one, I wanted Tsuna to be overseas, and two -- I r 2 laze to look up Japanese schools or even type ma letters.

Off Topic Rant: Another thing that bothers me is the total lack of YamaTsu stories. I mean, this pairing is the hotness! So, if you like this pairing even a _little_, I beg of you to write some YamaTsu so I can add you to my C2 for YamaTsu!

Beta'd By: QianYun

Kay, without further ado, I bring you: Mafia Seduction.

* * *

Prologue:

Introduction to Seduction

* * *

The class broke out in whispers as the mysterious new student stood in front of them, his hands clasped tightly in front of him and his head bowed in what appeared to be nervousness.

"Class," the teacher began, causing the murmurs to quiet down and the students to give her their undivided attention, "today we have a new student joining us. He comes from overseas, so be nice. Go ahead, introduce yourself."

The foreign student stepped forward and lifted his head; his warm golden brown eyes sweeping over the classroom nervously. He was dressed in the usual Ninamori High School attire which consisted of black slacks, a white long-sleeved button-down collar shirt, a red tie, and something worn over it- in his case, a black sweater vest. The uniform for the girls were the same, only they wore black skirts instead of slacks.

Almost immediately, the girls began to place him on a scale of 'hotness'. They spoke in quiet whispers amongst themselves.

"He looks kind of plain… the only thing he has going is his eyes. Aren't they beautiful?"

'_Thanks… I'll take whatever compliments I can get…'_

"Yeah, but he kind of looks like he sucks at everything he does…"

'_Is it really _that _obvious…?'_

"Maybe if he did something with his hair…?"

'_Ouch… I actually like my hair…'_ He pouted, sticking out his lower lip and furrowing his brow slightly, brown eyes sparkling. As if by magic, his entire visage seemed to change and it was like he had become the epitome of cuteness.

"Uh, hello…" he began, unaware that all the girls (and a couple boys, although they would vehemently deny it) were looking at him with slightly glazed eyes, small blushes on their faces. "My name is Tsunayoshi Sawada, and… uh… I transferred from… err… Japan to further my education. I'm very happy to be at this school!" He bit his bottom lip and looked away, unsure of what he should do next.

One of the girls in the back row let out a squeal, a trickle of blood escaping her nose before she fell forward in her desk, seemingly unconscious, a smile of pure bliss on her face.

Everyone stared at the girl in silence -- the boys with confusion and shock, the girls with understanding.

The teacher, having finally regained her composure from the girl's sudden fainting, cleared her throat. "Hum… it seems like it may be too hot in here…"

Half the class thought, _'You can say _that_ again…' _their eyes on the wide-eyed Tsuna.

She addressed one of the boys in the class. "Will you please escort her to the nurse's office?"

The boy nodded and put the unconscious girl's arm around his neck before hefting her up and walking out of the classroom.

"Now then, Mr. Sawada, will you please take the empty seat next to Yamamoto? Yamamoto, please raise your hand."

'Yamamoto' raised his hand and Tsuna felt a slow, nervous smile forming on his lips. It was just _too_ convenient. The girl who had fainted was the previous owner of the empty seat, and 'Yamamoto' just happened to be the target of his mission!

He took his time walking to his seat, the smile on his face wavering as he observed Yamamoto. Tsuna had to admit, the boy was fairly handsome. He had short black hair that spiked upward, the cowlicks covering his forehead. He had eyes that from a distance looked like a mix of grey and brown, and a friendly smile on his face that spoke of his gentleness. Slightly wide shoulders and from what he could see through the thick material of the sweater, Tsuna could only guess that he played sports. He was also clad in the Ninamori High School uniform, except unlike Tsuna, he wore a long-sleeved sweater over his white shirt.

Nervousness and dread settled like a block of ice in his stomach. The reality that he was _actually_ doing this was finally sinking in and making him begin to regret acting so hastily. He wished someone would shoot him in the head with a gun.

How could he have been so stupid?

* * *

_Tsuna rushed through the halls of the __Vongola's__ secret base, the bottom of his black dress shoes clicking steadily against the tiled floors and echoing through the empty hallway. His black coat billowed behind him as he marched steadily towards his destination, one emotion bringing about the uncharacteristic change in his behavior._

_Anger._

_It swelled inside him like a roaring fire, ready to lash out uncontrolled at anything and everything that entered his path. It wasn't just any anger. It was an anger composed of years of pent up frustration, pain, and sadness. _

_And the catalyst to releasing such dominating anger?_

_They made the simple mistake of calling him worthless and no-good. _

_Just the mere _thought _made his anger flare. _

_How dare they say that he was no-good and that he would never be able to become the Vongola Tenth? How dare they ridicule him, his family, and basically everything he stood for!_

_Well… he would show them. He would show them all!_

_Anger gave him the courage to push open the large mahogany double doors which banged against the wall with his fierce entrance._

_Anger gave him the determination to storm up to his child-like mentor, Reborn, and his surrogate brother, Dino, and slam his open hands onto the desk at which they sat._

_Anger gave him the drive to look into their wide eyed stare__s__ and demand that they give him the hardest, toughest, _longest_ mission they had._

_Shocked by the fire dancing behind his brother__s eyes, Dino picked up a random folder and handed it to the boy, too disconcerted to even consider the repercussions of his actions. _

_Tsuna snatched the folder from the slack hand and spared a glance to its contents (some of which included a ticket to his destination and some money) before setting off toward the airport._

_Anger gave him the stupidity to wait until he was on the plane, hovering above the middle of the ocean, to finally read the details of the mission._

A rank mission:

The Takeshi family is thought to have one of the most renowned and lethal sword styles in seven generations. The mission is simple: seduce the youngest member, Takeshi Yamamoto, find out the secret style, recruit Yamamoto into the Vongola family and have lots and lots of children with him and teach them the hidden style: thus increasing the Vongola's power by 50 percent.

_Tsuna's eyes grew larger and larger as he read, his anger dissipating and being replaced __with__ shocked horror. He read the instructions over and over, not wanting to believe what was written. _

_Finally, when the situation proved to be too much, his unleashed a load wail of, "NOOOOOOOOOO!" _

_It could be heard all the way back at the Vongola's hidden base._

_Dino blinked, finally shaking off the shock of what had just happened. He checked the folders scattered on the desk and his stomach sank when he realized _it _was gone. "Uuuuuhm, did Tsuna just take the mission that was originally for Bianchi?"_

_Reborn sighed and shook his head. "Stupid Tsuna."_

* * *

And now here he sat, the target of Operation: Seduction sitting right beside him. Unaware of anything other than his own little world, Yamamoto looked on, oblivious.

The thought of returning with his tail between his legs had surfaced – more than once actually – and as he sat there in the Ninamori High School classroom, it looked even more appealing.

'_No!'_ Tsuna chastened himself mentally. _'If I did that, I would only be proving everyone who doubted me right! I have to do this, to prove them all wrong. To prove to them, and __to__ myself, that I _can _be good for something.' _

He was totally oblivious to the fact that he couldn't conceive.

With his resolved strengthened, Tsuna plastered a smile on his face and turned to his target: Yamamoto. "Hi," he said, catching said boy's attention, "my name is Tsunayoshi Sawada."

Yamamoto smiled politely. "I'm Takeshi Yamamoto. Nice to meet 'cha."

Tsuna had never been happier that he had accidentally signed up for Seduction 101 in Mafia Middle School. He was going to need all the help he could get.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

Authors Notes: Okay, let me first say: Wow! I didn't think this fic would get so much response from just one chapter! That was what inspired me to right this so quickly! (Don'texpect another chapter this quick)

One of the reviewers talked about Yamamotos name in America being Takeshi... and ZOMG you're right! I totally forgot about that... Well, for the sake of this story, lets just say that everyone calls him by his last name.

Humm, theres alot of OOC-ness (or at least, it is to me) in this chapter. It's very hard to have Tsuna seduce someone while also keeping him in character... Oh yeah... SlightyNaughty!Tsuna ahead and SeducedYetOblivious!Yamamoto! Woot!

Let me also say that I am by no means a master of seduction. Lol, so don't go trying these techniques thinking you can bag a man! Remember, you have been warned! XP

Without further adoo, I bring you the second chapter of Mafia Seduction.

* * *

Seduction Technique One:

The Power of Senses

* * *

The bell signaling the end of class rang and the students began to pack up their possessions to head to their next class. The teacher who stood at the front of the room tried to assign homework, but seeing as they all ignored her, she finally sighed, threw up her hands in defeat, and watched her class scurry out of the room. 

"Uh, Yamamoto?" Tsuna called to the boy seated beside him, his things already packed and piece of paper held in his hands.

Yamamoto looked up from his packing. "Yeah?" 

"Well, I'm new to this school and… uh… I was wondering if you could tell me how to get to my next class? Here's my schedule."

Tsuna handed over his schedule and Yamamoto read it, an eyebrow rising as he did so. "Hahaha! Wow, isn't this something! Me and you have all of our classes together!"

Eyes widening in mock surprise, Tsuna exclaimed, "Imagine that!"

"Come on," Yamamoto said, rising from his seat, his backpack slung over his shoulder, "I'll show you to our next period classroom."

* * *

Tsuna followed Yamamoto through the crowded hallways, a pensive frown on his face as he thought of the first move he should make in his operation to seduce Takeshi Yamamoto. 

He thought back to what he remembered as the first lesson in Seduction 101: using the senses of your target to your advantage. The main five senses were sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste. 

He was wearing his school uniform, so he couldn't be very alluring in that. Besides, he didn't have large breasts or slender legs to show off, so he was out of luck in that department.

The next sense was sound, which meant he could try to talk seductively, but the mere thought made him embarrassed!

Smell… That was something that had to be used very discreetly. He had made sure to wash his hair in his favorite peach scented shampoo and used the same scented body wash. 

Next in the list was taste… He _certainly_ wasn't about to let Yamamoto… _taste_ him, so that just left touch.

What was it that his teacher always said…? Oh yeah! A single touch could convey one-thousand words, but he would have to be discreet. He didn't know how many women (or men for that matter) had tried to seduce Yamamoto, so he didn't know how subtle he would have to be. 

Almost immediately the number on rule of seduction surfaced in his brain: Seduce while making the target think _they_ seduced _you_. 

Drawing in a deep breath to still his racing nerves, he reached out to gently brush his hand against Yamamoto's. A jolt went through his hand, up his arm, before finally striking his heart and Tsuna pulled his hand back as if he had been burned. His face flushed and he cradled his still tingling hand against his chest. "S-sorry!"

Yamamoto laughed and appeased him with a gentle smile. "Don't worry about it."

Tsuna looked away and pouted, causing a group of girls who had been walking in the opposite direction to stop, giggle insanely, and glare at each other, before they finally began to brawl amongst themselves.

That was _not _how it was supposed to go! He was _not_ the one who was supposed to become red faced and embarrassed! He was_ not _the one whose heart should be racing, and wished his skin would _stop its freaking tingling already! _

As they finally reached their next classroom and took their seats (Tsuna making sure to take a seat next to Yamamoto), he realized that he would just have to try again. He _would _touch Yamamoto and he _would not_ be the one feeling harassed.

* * *

After the second period class ended, Tsuna continued trying to use flirty touches. 

His Seduction 101's teacher voice rang in his ears, going on and on about how touching someone could convey all of your emotions.

But, apparently, Yamamoto had never heard of such things.

Whenever Tsuna could get the chance, he would _accidentally _brush his finger against Yamamoto's or _accidentally_ bump shoulders as they walked down the hall together. But every time Tsuna pretended to look away embarrassed (even though he really was) and say, "Oops." Yamamoto would just laugh it off and say, "No problem!"

It was getting frustrating!

Tsuna wanted to grab the boy by the shoulders, shake him real hard, and scream, "I'm trying to seduce you! Can't you get that through your thick skull!"

And to make matters worse, Tsuna could _still _feel his body reacting while his target remained steadfastly unaffected. That was what hurt his manly pride the most.

* * *

The bell for lunch rang and Tsuna was becoming increasingly annoyed. He thought that it would be easy to seduce a male, seeing as they had a sex drive far greater than that of a female and looked at almost everything sexually (or maybe it was just him?). But Yamamoto… _Sheesh! _The boy apparently had the sex drive of a fruit, meaning that it was virtually nonexistent!

"Hey, Yamamoto!" Tsuna called as he followed the boy through the crowded halls, pushing past bodies that seemed to part for Yamamoto. "Seeing as I'm new here and all… I don't have any other friends… Would it be all right if I sat with you and your friends?"

Yamamoto looked uncertain, a frown on his face (the first Tsuna had ever seen on the boy) as he seemed to debate something. Finally, as if coming to a conclusion, he nodded and continued to walk.

Tsuna followed, noticing how most of the students seemed to be going in a different direction than them. "Uh, where are we going?"

Yamamoto didn't respond. He just kept walking through the now empty halls until they reached a door with a sign on it that read, 'Do Not Enter'. Not sparing the sign a glance, Yamamoto pushed open the door and began to walk up the narrow set of stairs behind it.

"You know… they put those signs up for a reason…" Tsuna said, hesitating briefly at the threshold, uncertain about following the other boy to an area that was obviously off-limits. In the end, he sighed and continued to follow Yamamoto up the stairs. Finally, they reached a door at the top which Yamamoto went through.

Sunlight poured through the doorway, and as Tsuna stepped closer to it, he felt like one of those people in movies who stepped through a glowing doorway to enter a magical wonderland.

But that was not the case; they were just on the school roof which was surrounded by a small wire fence. The view of the many houses, streets, and trees below was rather nice, but nothing breath-catching or amazing.

"Why are we here?" Tsuna asked, looking around the empty rooftop. "Is this where you and your friends gather to eat lunch or something?"

"No," Yamamoto said, walking to the middle of the roof and sitting down. He set his baseball decaled lunchbox beside him. "This is my secret rooftop…"

Tsuna stared at him weirdly. It wasn't much of a secret location… 

"You're the first person I've ever brought up here."

"Eh?" Tsuna gasped, his confusion reflecting in his voice. "But what about your friends? Don't you come here with them?"

Yamamoto laid down, his hands folding under his neck as a makeshift pillow. He stared up at the clouds that were lazily floating through the blue sky. "I don't have any friends…" He sighed. "At least, not any true friends."

"What? And I am?" Tsuna asked, his eyebrow raised dubiously.

"You're different," Yamamoto chuckled. "Even though we've just met, I can tell. You wanted to be my friend even before you knew who I was."

Tsuna's face scrunched up in confusion. As the conversation went on, he became more and more confused. "Who you are?"

"Yeah… You wanted to be my friend before you knew I was popular, or that I was a baseball star."

'_Uh… I think you're reading too much into this. I just _happened_ to sit next to you in class. And besides, I just want to get into your pants… … … Boy did _that _sound weird.'_

"I'm sure I'm not the only one," Tsuna tried to reason. "There must be a lot of people who like you just because you're so nice and friendly."

"That's what I meant by no true friends." Yamamoto raised his hand and flicked it flippantly. "Sure, I see them enough at school, but afterwards… I just don't have the time for them. Most of the time, I have baseball practice, and after that, I spend all my time helping my dad with his sushi restaurant."

"Why are you telling _me_ this?" 

Yamamoto laughed. "I don't know… I guess its cause I don't have to put up a front with you. I don't have to be who everyone else thinks I am… I can just be… me."

Tsuna stood there in silence, unsure of what to say to such a response. He looked at the baseball-loving boy lying down on the floor, from his slightly mussed hair to his well worn sneakers. He appeared as a normal, everyday guy, but he was so unlike anyone he had ever met. When you really thought about it, Takeshi Yamamoto was a walking mystery.

He guessed that now definitely wasn't the time to try and seduce him. Right now, he would just be his friend. He began to walk toward the boy who was still staring up at the sky when his shoe string caught in a crack in the roof.

He stumbled forward, trying to regain his balance before he fell right on top of a shocked Yamamoto who let out an 'oof' of surprise.

Tsuna groaned, half out of embarrassment, and half out of the small heart attack he gave himself. He was glad to have landed on Yamamoto's chest instead of the hard asphalt. Yamamoto inhaled deeply, getting a whiff of peaches. 

Tsuna's head was _pounding_… wait, no… it was… Yamamoto's heartbeat?

Putting his hands on either side of Yamamoto, he pushed himself up slightly and looked at the other boy's face. It was slightly flushed and his slightly wide eyes were staring into his. Tsuna knew their position was compromising, with his legs on either side of Yamamoto and their faces only inches apart, but something else had grabbed his attention entirely. 

"Yamamoto… are you… blushing?" Tsuna asked incredulously, unable to believe what he was seeing. After hours of not getting a reaction out of the boy, Tsuna found it quite shocking to be getting one now.

He almost couldn't believe it! _That_ works after all! Guys like it… when you fall on them accidentally! He thought all those cheesy romance movies were full of it!

Yamamoto turned his face away, but Tsuna could still see that his blush darkened. "N-no!" He tried to laugh it off, but Tsuna could hear a hint of a nervous undertone to it. "W-why would I be blushing?"

Tsuna grinned wickedly, the feeling of accomplishment destroying any previous embarrassment he would have otherwise felt. He was finally beginning to make progress, no matter how miniscule it was! He had never wanted to cackle evilly while rubbing his hands together more in his life.

"I don't know… Why would you be blushing?" he teased, trying to make his voice husky as to milk his victory as much as possible.

His prey didn't respond, and thinking that he had suffered enough, Tsuna finally rolled off of him. Yamamoto released a quiet breath of relief. 

Tsuna giggled from his position lying next to him, the embarrassment finally catching up to him and making his face turn red. "Oops… Look what happened by accident."

Yamamoto sat up and chuckled nervously, his face still flushed a light pink. "Y-yeah…" He picked up the box next to him and opened it, revealing rolls of sushi and a pair of chop sticks.

It was then that Tsuna realized he didn't bring any lunch. 

He watched Yamamoto eat, his eyes like that of a kicked puppy as he watched Yamamoto use his chopsticks with expert finesse to lift the sushi to his mouth. 

His stomach rumbled angrily.

Yamamoto looked up and finally noticed that Tsuna didn't have any food. He looked down to his remaining sushi before handing it to a surprised Tsuna. "Here."

"Are you sure?" Tsuna asked hesitantly. At Yamamoto's nod he smiled brilliantly and said with genuine gratitude, "Wow, thanks!"

He used the chopsticks to bring the fish to his mouth, and it tasted freaking awesome! Moans of appreciation escaped his mouth and he closed his eyes, reveling in the taste of the fishy goodness. He licked his lips slowly, making sure to get whatever he could of the delicious morsel.

When he opened his eyes again, Yamamoto was staring at him weirdly, his eyes dark and a small flush on his face. The stare sent shivers down Tsuna's spine.

"Wh-what?" he demanded, feeling oddly vulnerable.

Yamamoto looked away and rubbed the back of his neck. "N-nothing."

* * *

After lunch, Tsuna thought about resuming Operation: Sensory Overload right away, but he remembered another lesson that he had learned in Seduction 101.

Men loved it when you played hard to get!

So instead of trying to do _anything _to Yamamoto, he decided he would make him suffer a little. When they walked down the halls, he would put more distance between them, and in the classrooms, he would still sit next to the boy, but he wouldn't show any signs of interest. 

Since no one had ever tried to seduce him (or had they?) he didn't know if the technique was particularly effective.

Finally, thinking that he had waited long enough, he _accidentally _dropped his pencil next to Yamamoto. 

Tsuna made a noise of distress as he dropped the pencil. "Yamamoto," he whispered, "can you get that for me?"

The boy picked up the pencil and held it out to him. When he went to grab it, Tsuna made sure to touch his hand and linger a little _too_ long.

"Thanks," Tsuna smiled.

Yamamoto blushed. "N-no problem!"

Tsuna turned away and blushed himself. '_Yep... It __definitely__ works...'_


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

Author's Note: Yo! Thanks for all the reviews everyone sent! And I just learned something... you can reply to reviews sent! Lol, I didn't know that! Sooo, yeah, just thought I'd let you know. ;

Hmm, what can I say about this chapter...? Well, it introduces a new character! Yay!

Beta'd by: QianYun ( who should win some type of... beta award or something! :P )

* * *

Seduction Technique Two:

The Proverbial Wrench

* * *

_Young Tsunayoshi Sawada sat in the passenger__s side of the moving car, his father sitting behind the wheel with a pair of sunglasses covering his eyes. Tsuna had the window rolled down, the wind slapping against his face as he watched the scenery roll by in a swirl of colors._

_Today__ he was going on a simple delivery mission with his father. It was a chance to give him a small taste of the mafia world__and__ the delivery just happened to be going to his godfather (in more ways than one), the ninth Vongola boss._

_They had just stopped at a red light when he heard his father hum._

"_It's quiet. _Too _quiet."_

_Looking around, Tsuna realized that his father was right. The city looked absolutely desolate with no civilians bustling about __and the lack of__ the steady hum__ming__ of other cars driving through the streets. In fact, most of the cars seemed to be parked in front of buildings, yet there was no one around to drive them. _

"_Daddy---" Tsuna was cut off as his father suddenly pressed on the gas, sending him forward in his seat before slamming back as the seatbelt caught him. He opened his mouth to question what was going on when a loud bang sounded._

_The car began to swerve violently and Tsuna screamed. _

* * *

Tsuna awoke with a gasp; his breathing labored and his sweat made the sheets cling to his skin uncomfortably. He peeled off the drenched sheets and threw his feet over the edge of the bed. 

He inhaled slowly, trying to calm his racing heart and still his nerves.

Tsuna _hated_that dream. It was the first time he had ever experienced the darker side of the mafia world up close and personal. And his father… Tsuna rubbed his eyes tiredly. 

He had always looked up to his father, for in his eyes he was a hero. He thought he would travel the world, vanquishing evil and saving lives. But the truth of the matter was that being in the mafia was far from fun and games. There was no good or evil. Right or wrong. The mafia world was more than the black and white that's seen through a child's eyes. 

He shook his head, hoping to clear away the images and sounds that still resonated in his skull.

A quick glance over at the bedside table clock told him it was just after 6:00 A.M. Much too early for him to be up, yet he knew he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep.

Tsuna sighed. He didn't have to leave for school for another hour.

Silence reigned in the small hotel room; the only sounds were his quiet breaths. 

The dream was beginning to fade away and Tsuna decided that he would rather do something to distract himself than be left alone with nothing but his thoughts.

Tsuna slipped on a pair of pants, a jacket, and his shoes before heading outside, locking the small hotel room behind him. 

* * *

The cool fall air felt good against his heated skin as he walked down the deserted streets, his hands shoved into his pockets. The sun had not yet risen and the moon was hiding behind dark clouds, the only source of light was the various streetlights placed on the side of the road.

Tsuna inhaled deeply; the crisp morning air seemed to do his body good.

Over his head, a streetlight flickered ominously before finally going out, casting the area in which he stood into thicker darkness.

Tsuna stared up at the lamp, a frown on his face.

A rusty gate creaked, breaking the silence that blanketed the area.

Tsuna turned toward the sound but saw nothing. He stared at the area, waiting. Nothing stirred in the darkness and Tsuna released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

The sound of faint growling filled his ears and Tsuna stiffened. 

He looked around for the source of the sound but saw nothing. It was apparently hiding in the shadows. 

The growling sounds grew closer.

Thinking that he had loitered long enough, Tsuna began to walk away, the sound of his shoes scraping gravel drowned out by the pounding of his heart.

The sounds of padded footsteps behind him made him walk faster.

Whatever itwas following him barked. Before he knew it, he was running; the sound of whatever it was close behind.

He ran as fast as he could, adrenaline and fear making his heart pump faster, which in turn strengthened his muscles. 

Up ahead, he could see someone wearing a hoody with the hood covering their head jogging toward him. He wanted to warn them, to shout that he was being chased by a vicious beast, but he couldn't spare the air.

He ran straight past the jogger, not even slowing down to look at their face. He spared a glance over his shoulder and was shocked to see that the person wasn't attempting to run away from what was chasing him.

Tsuna slowed and finally stopped. He stared in open-mouthed horror as the _huge beast_ that had been chasing him lunged through the air at the jogger, its jaws open wide to bite into him.

The jogger let loose a deep scream (one that was distinctly male) and crouched down, their arm cocked by their hip. It was then that Tsuna realized that they were screaming, "_EXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX---"_

The arm that was lowered at their side suddenly snapped up, and using the weight of their whole body, the jogger's fist connected with the dog's chin with a snap. 

"---_TREME!_"

The dog let out a pitiful whimper as the blow carried it upward and halfway across town.

Tsuna stood there, his mouth still open (though now for an entirely different reason) and his eyes as wide as saucers. 

The jogger turned, his hood had been blown back when he used his uppercut and Tsuna got a good look at his face. He had short spiky white hair and rough features - on his left temple was a scar that stood out in stark contrast to his tanned skin and across his nose was a white bandage.

And he was grinning! Grinning like a freaking maniac with his eyes closed, and shooting him a thumbs up with his bandaged hands.

'_Who grins after punching a dog?!' _Tsuna wanted to scream.

"That was EXTREME!" Maniac guy said, relaxing his posture and walking toward Tsuna. "Using a dog to unleash the full force of your running! Extreme! But I would much rather use a cheetah! Now that would be an EXTREME WORKOUT!"

Tsuna backed up slightly, wary of getting near such an obviously unstable person.

"Hey!" Maniac guy roared suddenly, making Tsuna jump. "Don't I know you?!"

Tsuna stared. "Uh, I don't think so. I just moved here."

"That's it!" Maniac guy cried, slamming a fist into his open palm. "You're the new student from overseas, Tsuna Sawada! We have classes together!" 

"Uh…" Tsuna didn't think so. He'd remember such a boisterous guy.

"I'm Ryohei Sasagawa! It's EXTREMELY nice to meet you! Since we go to the same school… _YOU SHOULD JOIN THE BOXING CLUB!_ It could fit an _EXTREME_ guy like you!"

"Uh…"

"I take it you're silent because you're honored to the LIMIT! Cool! I'll see you at the club after school!"

"Hey!" A lady cried, leaning out of her window to glare at them. "Some of us are trying to sleep!"

"Sorry to the LIMIT!" Ryohei apologized. He turned to Tsuna and gave one more thumbs up before turning and jogging away.

Tsuna stood there. One thought resounding through his mind: _'Uh…'_

* * *

An hour later, Tsuna started his trek to school, the sun having finally began its ascent over the horizon to bathe the world in light. 

He was still in a slight daze after getting chased by a vicious dog and then saved by an even more dangerous person. The day had barely even begun and Tsuna already felt as if it was too eventful.

So lost in his thoughts was he that he almost jumped out of his skin when an arm draped over his shoulder.

He looked up and met the familiar face of---

"Yamamoto!"

"Sup?" Yamamoto grinned, unaware of the small heart attack he had given the smaller boy. 

Tsuna inhaled deeply to still his beating heart, but it seemed to only beat faster after he got a whiff of the other boy. It seemed that he was wearing some type of cologne. Blushing, Tsuna asked, "What are you doing here? Do you live around here or something?" 

"Yup," he answered simply.

Tsuna stared, waiting for him to elaborate, but when he didn't, he sighed and shook his head.

"You know," Tsuna began, "the weirdest thing happened earlier this morning."

"Oh?" the other boy asked, only a hint of actual interest.

"Yeah! First, I was chased by this vicious dog, and then this weird guy who used the word 'extreme' in every sentence punched it! He freaking punched it! With his hand!"

Yamamoto raised an eyebrow, an expression of concern on his face. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Tsuna said. "The extreme guy knocked it halfway across a block before it could do anything."

Yamamoto hummed. "Was his name Ryohei, by any chance?"

"Yeah! Do you know him?"

"Hahaha! Yeah, he's in one of our classes. Isn't he funny?"

"Uh, he's _funny_ alright…" _In the head… _"Oh yeah! He tried to get me to join the boxing club!"

"You should join!" Yamamoto said, suddenly enthusiastic.

"Eh?!"

Yamamoto shrugged with the shoulder that wasn't around Tsuna. "Why not?"

Tsuna looked at the boy as if he were stupid. "Because it's violent and sweaty. Not to mention that, uh, it's violent!"

Laughing, Yamamoto said, "I see what you mean. I don't really see you as the violent type, Tsuna."

"That's because I'm not!"

They finally arrived at the school gates, and already students were swarming the campus, talking loudly amongst themselves before they were required to go inside.

Yamamoto detached himself from Tsuna to do a complicated handshake with a group of boys. 

Tsuna continued on to his first period class.

* * *

Their first period math class went by uneventfully. Tsuna – dreading a reunion with a certain overzealous boxer – decided to put his seduction plan for Yamamoto on momentary hiatus. 

As they entered their second period history class, Tsuna halted in the doorway, his worst fear coming true. Standing at the pencil sharpener was none other than Ryohei, his school uniform replacing the heavy sweats he had worn earlier that morning, though the bandaged hands and nose remained.

He was taking brand new unsharpened pencils and sharpening them all the way into little nubs, an intense frown of concentration on his face as he did so.

Tsuna tried to sneak by so he could sit behind a larger boy and maybe hide for the rest of the period. He had just reached the back of the classroom when a loud shout of "Sawada!" made him stop in his tracks.

He turned his head slowly and froze in shock just as a bandaged fist stopped inches from his face.

Ryohei laughed loudly and lowered his fist. "Just like the fearless Sawada I met this morning! You didn't even flinch from my EXTREME punch!"

Tsuna released a tremendous breath of air and almost keeled over. The only reason he hadn't moved was because he had been too scared out of his mind to even _breathe_. He swore his life just flashed before his eyes.

"Hahaha!" Yamamoto came over and punched Ryohei in the shoulder lightly. "Ryohei, you're just as funny as ever!"

Ryohei turned toward the grinning Yamamoto. "Ah! Yamamoto! If you ever tire of baseball, I'll be sure to have a spot open for you in the boxing club!"

Tsuna stared, deadpanned. He was sure that if a girl got a paper cut from reading a book, Ryohei would think she was "extreme" for "inflicting pain on herself for endurance" and try to recruit her to the boxing club.

Not having the energy to stand, Tsuna practically melted into his seat. Ryohei sat to the left of him while Yamamoto sat to the right. 

Before either could start another conversation, the teacher, a balding middle-aged man, entered the room and sat a briefcase on his desk. He removed his glasses to rub his eyes tiredly before replacing them. "Hello today, class."

A few of the students sitting at the front of the classroom returned his greeting.

"I spent all last night grading the tests you all took a week ago, and I must say, I am less than impressed." He tried to glare sternly at the class, but it had little to no effect. "Since you all did so poorly, you'll have to make the grade up somehow. That's why… I'm assigning you all a group project!"

Almost immediately, whispers broke out amongst the students. Some complaining the unfairness of it all while others already began forming groups.

"You will be working in groups of threes. You will have to study a key moment in history, and then you will have to act it out. You don't have to have any special props, but those who do will get extra credit. It's due by Friday, at which time everyone will perform theirs in front of the class."

Everyone began scurrying around the classroom, wanting to partner up with their friends before anyone else could.

"I'll partner with the EXTREME Sawada!" Ryohei said suddenly, glaring at Tsuna with a fiery intensity. Tsuna raised his hands in submission, not wanting to partner with the jubilant boy but not wanting to insult him by refusing either.

"Well," Tsuna said, "that's two. Yamamoto, what about---"

Tsuna paused; a group of girls were currently trying to convince Yamamoto to join their group. He felt a flash of irritation towards them, but quickly squashed it.

"Ah! Sorry!" Yamamoto apologized to them quickly, a sad sort of smile on his face. "I'd love to, _but_ I already promised Tsuna I would join him. Right, Tsuna?" He looked at him, his eyes silently signaling for him to agree.

"Uh… Yeah!" Tsuna agreed, confused but willing to back up his friend's lie. "He already said he'd join ours."

The girls all sighed in disappointment before turning to leave.

When he was sure the girls were out of earshot, he fixed Yamamoto with an inquisitive stare. "Why'd you do that? You could have joined them if you wanted to…"

Yamamoto shrugged. "I'd rather be with you, not them."

Tsuna blushed, embarrassed, but a pleased feeling slowly built inside of him. For some reason, it seemed to matter that Yamamoto wanted to be with _him_ instead of those girls. Tsuna quickly reassured himself that it was because of his mission that he felt that way.

"Well!" Ryohei interjected, breaking the atmosphere that had built. "Since that's settled, let's start discussing what we're going to do!"

Before they could began to discuss however, the teacher, Mr. Williams, passed by them, dropping what appeared to be test results on Yamamoto and Ryohei's desk before continuing on. Curiosity peaked, he looked at Yamamoto's paper and on the front in bold red ink was a glaring '17'. 

Yamamoto just laughed, seemingly unperturbed by his bad grade. Tsuna stared at him weirdly before looking over at Ryohei's paper, expecting his grade to be even worse. He almost fell out of his seat in shock. Ryohei had a perfect '100'!

"Hah!" Ryohei cried, catching Tsuna's stare and flashing him a thumbs up. "Though it was boring to the LIMIT, my sister wouldn't give me back my lucky boxing gloves until I studied!"

Tsuna should have known the other boy would be so easy to manipulate. He seemed simpleminded that way. Threaten him with boxing and he would be putty in your hands.

"Back to the topic at hand," Tsuna said, trying to steer the conversation back to their project. "Since I'm not from America, I don't know much about its history. Yamamoto-" His eyes flickered to the '17' on his test. He turned to Ryohei. "Ryohei, do you have any suggestions?"

Ryohei frowned thoughtfully. "Ah! I got it! How about… the EXTREME discovery of electricity!"

Tsuna raised an eyebrow. "That's… actually a good idea. What about you, Yamamoto?"

Yamamoto grinned. "The discovery of baseball!"

"OH!" Ryohei cried suddenly. "I changed my mind! I want to do the EXTREME discovery of boxing!"

Tsuna sighed and shook his head. "I don't think those things are really important history…"

He received twin death glares.

"Okay, okay! It's important history! But, I don't think that's what Mr. Williams really expects."

"Yeah," Yamamoto sighed, "you're right. I guess we can do the electricity thing."

Tsuna took out a folder from his backpack and flipped it to a clean page. On the top he wrote, 'The Discovery of Electricity'.

"The _EXTREME_ discovery," Ryohei corrected.

Rolling his eyes, Tsuna wrote, 'The _Extreme _Discovery of Electricity'. 

"Now what?" Tsuna asked.

"We need to research our topic," Yamamoto supplied. "Then we need to write a type of script so we can act it."

Nodding, Tsuna thought of how they could fit all of that into only three days to have it ready by Friday. "Well, for today, we'll have to research. Then tomorrow we create the script and have it learned by Friday."

"We only have this class together," Yamamoto said. "We're going to have to meet up after school."

"We can use my house!" Ryohei said loudly. "We have EXTREMELY fast internet, and my sister is in the drama club!"

"Okay," Tsuna said, nodding, "then we'll meet at Ryohei's house after school."

Yamamoto hissed, drawing their attention toward him. "Sorry! I can't! I have baseball practice today… Why don't you two research without me today and then I'll be there tomorrow to help with the script?"

Tsuna tried not to let his disappointment show. Tsuna looked at Ryohei, silently asking if that was okay. Ryohei shrugged, so Tsuna shrugged.

"Well… I guess me and Ryohei will research at his house."

Silence descended upon the group.

"It's quiet to the LIMIT!" 

Fortunately, before the situation could become any more awkward, the bell signaling the end of second period sounded.

Tsuna packed up his things, stood, and looked at Ryohei. "Uh, I'll meet you by the gate after school?"

Ryohei grinned. "Confirmed EXTREMELY to the LIMIT!"

Nodding somewhat uncomfortably, Tsuna hurried out of the classroom, only slowing down so that Yamamoto could catch up.

He would have to spend a day, alone, with Ryohei Sasagawa. And he thought his _current_ mission was hard. 


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I _still_ don't own KHR!

A/N: Woo! Not much to say about this chapter... cept its kinda fillery...

Thanks everyone for all the reviews! They really make my day!

Beta'd by: QianYun

* * *

Chapter 3:

Tsuna ignored Yamamoto all the way through their third and fourth period classes.

He was still rather annoyed at the baseball nut for ditching him. He would have to spend an untold amount of time alone with a crazy person, and it was all Yamamoto's fault!

When the lunch bell finally sounded, Tsuna thought about finding somewhere else to sit and eat. But then he realized that the only people he really knew were Yamamoto and Ryohei, and he definitely didn't plan on sitting with the latter.

So it was with great reluctance that Tsuna followed Yamamoto up to the rooftop.

They both sat with their backs to the doorway- Tsuna trying his best to ignore Yamamoto while still being in the other's presence.

It was a surprisingly hot day considering it was fall, and the sun shone brightly overhead. The concrete they sat on stored and released heat amazingly well and the only shade they had was from the shadow of the building.

Yamamoto bumped shoulders with him playfully. "Come on… Are you still ignoring me?"

Tsuna looked toward the other direction, hearing but not seeing the other boy sigh.

"That's too bad… I guess I'll just have to enjoy all of this nice, juicy, sushi by myself. And I packed so much too! There's no way I'll be able to eat it all by my lonesome."

The smell of fishy goodness assaulted Tsuna's nose, and it was with an inward curse that he realized he hadn't remembered to bring lunch. _Again_. Apparently the other boy knew it as well; his moans of pleasure were having conflicting effects on Tsuna.

Face flushed and stomach growling, Tsuna bit his bottom lip, his conviction steadily crumbling with every sound of appreciation Yamamoto made as he ate.

Just when he was about to give in, Yamamoto said, "Oh, come on, Tsuna! What's the big deal?"

"The _big deal _is that you're going to leave me alone with some psycho freak!"

"No, it's not."

"What?"

"I know that's not the reason."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Indeed, Tsuna was genuinely confused.

Tsuna could practically hear the grin in Yamamoto's voice as he spoke. "Tsuna… are you… jealous?"

Flinching as if he had been struck, Tsuna finally turned toward the boy, his mouth open to lay into him, when something was placed into his mouth. His muffled insults soon melted into moans of appreciation.

Yamamoto pulled the chopsticks out of Tsuna's mouth, his devilish grin saying it all.

Tsuna chewed the sushi in his mouth, the glare on his face unable to remain as the taste assaulted his taste buds before he swallowed, the food settling happily in his stomach.

Yamamoto used the chopsticks to place a piece into his own mouth before picking up another piece and holding it in front of a reluctant Tsuna. He stared at it, hesitant to willingly put something in his mouth that had been in Yamamoto's only seconds earlier. It would be like an indirect kiss!

The chopsticks began to move, wiggling the sushi up and down in a sensual dance that made his salivary glands shift into overdrive.

"F-Fine," he relented. "But let me do it." He grabbed the chopsticks and ignored the grin on Yamamoto's face; instead he focused on the fish in his mouth and his less perverted thoughts.

He knew it was childish to be mad at Yamamoto. It wasn't his fault that the baseball coach assigned practice on the same day their history teacher assigned a group project. Besides, he knew how much the other boy loved baseball, and it wouldn't exactly be right to fault him on that.

Yamamoto bumped shoulders with him gently. "Forgive me?"

Tsuna sighed and rolled his eyes. "Nothing to be forgiven. Should be me apologizing anyway."

The other boy once again showed his ability to forgive and forget so easily. He shrugged simply and said, "Don't worry about it."

And all was forgiven.

* * *

The final bell of class rang and Tsuna was the last to leave the classroom. He took his precious time, procrastinating on the simplest of tasks to put off meeting Ryohei at the front gate.

Yamamoto, who had been waiting outside the classroom for him, slapped him on the back when he finally came out. "Come on, Tsuna! Ryohei really isn't that bad!"

Glaring at nothing in particular, Tsuna muttered, "Say that when you see him punch a dog across town."

Apparently, the other boy heard him and began to laugh. When he finally calmed down, he flashed Tsuna his signature smile. "Well, I have to go to baseball practice. Good luck with Ryohei!" With one final grin, he turned and headed toward the baseball field.

Tsuna inhaled deeply. He might as well man up and get it over with.

Ryohei was exactly where he said he'd be when Tsuna came outside. The extreme boy was shadow-boxing, moving gracefully across the school yard as he exchanged blows with an invisible opponent. Tsuna was so absorbed in the display that he started when Ryohei looked up and exclaimed, "Sawada!"

Tsuna raised a hand in greeting and offered a hesitant smile. They began walking side by side down the deserted streets, the other school children having already headed home.

"What took you so long?" Ryohei asked, looking at him curiously.

Starting, Tsuna looked at the boy and began to fidget. He couldn't exactly say, 'Oh! Well I think you're a crazy psycho and I was very hesitant to meet you!'

"I know!" the boxer cried suddenly, leveling Tsuna with those fiery silver eyes of his again.

Tsuna 'eeped' and stuttered nervously, "Y-y-you do?"

"Of course!" he said, flashing him a thumbs up with his bandaged hand. "You were gathering up your courage… to tell me you want to join the boxing club!"

"Uh, what?"

Laughing merrily, Ryohei said boisterously, "No need to be so modest, Sawada! I could tell that you were impressed to the LIMIT by my boxing prowess!"

"Uh, what?"

Ryohei placed an arm around his shoulder, startling him. "Don't worry! I'll train you personally! In no time at all, you'll be a boxer worthy of admiration!"

Before Tsuna could even deign the boy with a reply, he cried suddenly, "We're here!"

Tsuna stared at the house in front of him, almost not believing that someone like Ryohei even lived there. It looked too… normal. Well, more normal than he had been expecting anyway.

It was a cozy little house that was surrounded by a white picket fence. Different assortments of flowers littered the ground with no semblance of order and a cobblestone walkway led up to the front door which had a dent in it, as if someone had punched it. The house itself was painted in a light blue and the shutters on the windows were white.

Seeing Tsuna's gaze on the 'garden', Ryohei chuckled nervously and said, "That's my mom's doing! She likes to think she's a gardener, but she isn't very good. Don't tell her I said that!" He looked left and right, as if she might have been hiding in a bush, spying on them.

They entered through the front door and stepped into the living room. It was decorated like a normal room. Floral print carpet, floral print chairs, floral print curtains… Hell, basically everything was floral print. Someone, apparently, really had a love for flowers.

"Mom!" Ryohei called, taking off his shoes by the door and motioning for Tsuna to follow suit. "I'm home!"

"I'm in the kitchen!" came the reply.

Ryohei beckoned him to follow as he headed for what Tsuna could only assume was the kitchen. In the kitchen, a woman with shoulder length golden-brown hair stood in front of the sink, scrubbing a pile of dishes furiously.

The smell of something burnt hung faintly in the air.

With a deliberate sniff, Ryohei asked warily, "Another failed attempt at cooking?"

The woman turned and Tsuna finally got a good look at her face. Her features were slightly worn, but she still seemed to glow with a fiery youthfulness. She had a soft face and a lean build that Ryohei definitely didn't inherit from her. But what he did inherit were her twinkling silver eyes.

She dried her hands on a towel and brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. She grinned and Tsuna was immediately aware of the almost wolfish quality that was similarly present in Ryohei's smile. "Yeah, you know I'm no good at this stuff! Oh?" Her eyes flickered to Tsuna. "Who's this?"

Tsuna stepped forward and bowed politely. "I'm Tsunayoshi Sawada. It's very nice to meet you."

Ryohei's mother only raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "Please, no need to be so formal. I'm Natalie Sasagawa."

"Natalie?" Tsuna repeated, confused, "But that's not--" He cut himself off, not wanting to be rude.

"Not what?" Natalie asked, that wolfish grin back on her face. "Japanese? Well of course not! I'm one-hundred percent American! It's Ryohei's dad who's the Asian!" She laughed uproariously, as if she had told a funny joke.

Tsuna blinked and with a roll of his eyes, Ryohei explained, "My dad's a professional boxer from Japan! He came here to challenge American boxers and met my mom. For some reason, my mom likes to always tease him because she says that American boxers are the best."

Staring blankly, Tsuna finally admitted why he had been so reluctant to go to the boxer's house alone. He had thought that all of Ryohei's family was crazy. And it appeared as if he might have been right.

"Come on," Ryohei finally said, breaking Tsuna from his musing, "let's go up to my room."

With a final goodbye over his shoulder to Natalie, Tsuna followed Ryohei up the stairs, through a narrow hallway, and into his room. It was exactly how Tsuna envisioned it would be.

Posters of boxers littered all four visible spaces of the walls, awards and trophies were placed on a shelf by the open closet door and clothes and other junk obscured the floor so much, Tsuna could barely make out the color of the carpeting. For the record, it was blue.

Ryohei navigated through the junk with expert precision, while Tsuna stepped on things that poked his sock-clothed feet uncomfortably. Ryohei sat at the computer that was in front of the window, and turned it on. Not seeing any other chairs, Tsuna stood behind him.

"So," Tsuna began, watching the computer screen load slowly, "did you get into boxing because of your dad?"

"Of course!" Ryohei cried. "But that's not the only reason!" He tapped the scar on his forehead. "I got beat up pretty bad protecting my sister, and I wanted to learn to fight to protect her."

"Oh…"

"Hah! I remember it like it was yesterday! I came home, my face battered and bleeding. My father, who had been reading the newspaper, glanced at me and asked, 'Did you get your ass kicked?' I just nodded. He said, 'No Sasagawa is going to get their ass kicked in this household. You're either going to learn to fight or get the hell out!' It was the happiest day of my life!"

Tsuna gaped in disbelief. _'Like father like son, they always say. I don't even want to meet the sister…'_

Finally, the computer finished starting up and Ryohei connected to the internet.

They spent around thirty minutes searching sites and gathering all the data they could on Benjamin Franklin's discovery of electricity when there was a docile knock on the door.

Ryohei told the knocker to come in and a girl with short, light-brown hair entered the room carrying a tray of cut sandwiches. She was wearing a school uniform which consisted of a sleeveless beige sweater and a grey skirt. Holding the tray in one hand, she placed the other on her hip and gave Ryohei a look. "You could have at least attempted to clean your room, big brother."

Grinning, Ryohei shrugged. "Sorry, I didn't have a chance to."

She sighed, but walked through the wreckage with the same grace Ryohei had and set the platter on the computer desk. Finally, her brown eyes -- which Tsuna could only guess came from her father -- landed on him, and she smiled politely. "Hi! I'm Kyoko Sasagawa."

"Hello," Tsuna began hesitantly, "I'm Tsunayoshi Sawada. Call me Tsuna."

Kyoko grinned, but it was decidedly less feral than her other family members. "Don't worry. I'm the normal one in the family."

Sandwiches already stuffed in his mouth, Ryohei's reply was muffled and accompanied by a spray of crumbs. Kyoko and Tsuna both made sounds of disgust, and Ryohei finally swallowed with visible efforts. He repeated, "The black sheep!"

She rolled her eyes. "Just because I'm not a boxing fanatic doesn't make me the black sheep." Turning toward Tsuna, she said, "Well, it was nice meeting you, Tsuna."

Tsuna nodded to her as she left the room.

When she left, Tsuna took the time to re-evaluate what he thought he knew of the weird boxer. He knew he was borderline crazy, but underneath all of that, he could tell he was a good person. Tsuna had seen the affection in the siblings' eyes, even as they traded insults. Besides, Ryohei had protected him from a vicious dog, just like he had done for his sister. Except instead of a dog, it was people.

A smudge of mustard was on Ryohei's face, and Tsuna gestured to it to have the boy wipe it off. Ryohei rubbed every inch of his face _but _the part that was smudged. Taking pity on him, he leaned forward and wiped away the mustard that was by his lips with his thumb.

Ryohei blinked owlishly. Tsuna blushed a bright red in response and tried to stammer out an explanation, but was silenced when the boxer grinned genuinely.

After that, they resumed their research and Tsuna began to feel almost at ease with the other boy. He no longer felt on edge around him like he had at first.

* * *

"Do you want to stay for dinner?" Ryohei asked, after they had finally finished gathering all the information they could.

They sat in front of the television, playing a boxing game on Ryohei's gaming system. Outside the window, the sun was beginning to set and already he could see the pale outline of the moon.

Tsuna hummed thoughtfully. While it was true he was beginning to warm up to Ryohei, he didn't think he was _that_ comfortable with him.

"Sorry," he said, surprised that he actually meant it, "I have to get home." He shrugged and added hesitantly, "maybe… maybe next time?"

The frown that had been forming was immediately replaced with a large grin.

* * *

As he walked down the street, Ryohei in the doorway shouting his goodbye, Tsuna realized that he might be able to become good friends with the boy.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter Four:

The next day, Tsuna was once again walking towards school; the sky covered in with clouds that hid the sun and gave a slight chill to the air. It was somewhat amazing how the weather could change from scorching hot to freezing cold from day to day.

He was warmed quite suddenly when he felt a rapidly familiar arm placing itself across his shoulder. He didn't even twitch, for he was so used to the boy's lack of regard for anyone's personal space by now.

They exchanged pleasantries as they walked toward school, talking about the sudden changes in the weather, about how _crazy_ yet _bearable _Ryohei was, and about the upcoming Halloween party.

"Halloween party?" Tsuna asked, crossing his arms when a sudden gust of wind hit him. Having felt him shiver, Yamamoto began rubbing his arms, warming Tsuna's body in more ways than one.

"Yeah," Yamamoto said, oblivious to the affects his continued arm-rubbing was having on the smaller boy, "it's kind of a tradition at Namimori or something." He gave a one-shouldered shrug. "Anyway, are you going?"

"Uh, I don't know." Tsuna looked at him out of the corner of his eyes. "Are you?"

Another shrug. "I don't know. Parties aren't really my thing, but it's kind of expected that I do."

Tsuna nodded. He knew exactly what the other boy meant by expectations. Being the descendent of a mafia boss himself, it seemed as if he was always expected to live up to everyone's expectations, and when he failed to meet those expectations -- let's just say that it hurt more to disappoint them than if they hadn't been expecting anything.

"If you go, I will," Tsuna said.

Yamamoto laughed, the boy was so close that Tsuna could feel it travel through him. "Then I'll go."

When they finally reached the school gates and Yamamoto let to go of him to mingle with other people, Tsuna felt himself missing the warmth more than usual.

He spotted Ryohei harassing a group of freshmen to join the boxing club; the freshmen wore fearful looks, looking at Ryohei as if he was a wild animal. The boxer looked up, spotting him, and the freshmen took that as a sign to make a run for it.

Ryohei gave a brief wave – which Tsuna returned – before the boy took off, shouting something about "extreme workouts".

With a shake of his head and a chuckle, Tsuna continued on into the school building.

--

Tsuna once again found himself in his second period history class an hour later, seated in the back row with Yamamoto and Ryohei seated on either side of him. They were given a free period to work on their group project and the teacher allowed them to move their desks to their liking. As such, they all moved their desks into a circle.

"Sorry for not being able to help you guys yesterday," Yamamoto apologized immediately after they were all seated.

"It's okay," Tsuna smiled. "We still got a lot of research done."

He smiled, looking oddly relieved. "What did you guys find out?"

Ryohei reached into his backpack and opened the folder they had used to store their information. "Well," he began, clearing his throat dramatically, "Benjamin Franklin thought that lightning was an electrical current and wanted to see if he was right. So in 1752 he took a kite, strapped a key to it, and flew it in a storm to test his theory."

Yamamoto laughed. "That Ben Franklin sure was an extreme guy!"

"Of course!" Ryohei cried, fire burning in his eyes. Apparently the word "extreme" was his trigger. "We must be related! His extreme blood runs through my veins!"

"Or maybe you were dropped on your head too many times as a baby," Tsuna muttered lowly.

"Hey!" the boxer cried, making Tsuna jump in guilt. "I think you're right!" Tsuna and Yamamoto stared at him. "My mom did always tell me that sometimes, when she held me while watching exciting boxing matches, she would throw her hands up to cheer and I would fly through the air and land on my head!"

"Wow…" Tsuna said somewhat breathlessly. "That explains _a lot_."

"Okay," Yamamoto drawled slowly, even _he _was not finding any humor in the explanation.

Ryohei just looked at them in confusion.

"Back to the project," Tsuna said, steering the awkward conversation back on track. "Now, since we're done researching, all we have to do is make the script."

Yamamoto and Ryohei frowned thoughtfully. Finally, Yamamoto asked, "How does a person even come up with these theories?"

Tsuna and Ryohei exchanged glances, both with identical looks of confusion.

"Maybe," Ryohei began slowly, "when he was sitting at home one day, it was storming outside, but he wanted to play with his new kite! So he thought, 'Hm. I wonder… if I were to fly my kite in a storm, would I be struck by lightning?'"

The other two boys stared at him, wearing identical blank looks. They began nodding their heads slowly.

"So then," Tsuna added, a grin tugging at the corner of his lips, "he was like, 'Aw, who cares! I want to fly my kite!'"

Yamamoto laughed, joining them in their randomness. "So he went outside and locked the door behind him. But somehow, his house key got in his kite string and it went up in the sky when he started flying his kite!"

By now they were all looking at each other, laughing stupidly.

Tsuna wiped a tear of mirth from the corner of his eye, grinning. "His key was struck by lightning, and that's how Benjamin Franklin discovered electricity."

"We should write that!" Yamamoto said enthusiastically, looking like he was about to continue laughing. "The teacher never said our version of the event had to be _entirely _accurate."

"I want to play the extreme role of my great-great-great-great-grandfather Ben!" Ryohei exclaimed.

Shrugging, Tsuna agreed. "And Yamamoto can be the narrator or something."

Yamamoto nodded. "But what will you do, Tsuna?"

"Uh, I guess I could write out the script."

They had just begun writing their script when the bell rang, making them look at each other in confusion. Tsuna looked at the clock, a frown on his face. "But we still have, like, twenty minutes left."

"Oh, yeah," Yamamoto said suddenly, "I totally forgot! Today's only a half day!"

Tsuna sighed. "But we've hardly written anything."

"That's okay!" Ryohei said. "We can finish writing the script at my house!"

Yamamoto agreed. "And this time, I'll be there as well."

Tsuna nodded and began packing up his things as well. He shot Ryohei a smile. "We'll all meet by the front gate after school, okay?"

They all agreed and headed toward their next period classes.

--

The day passed without incident and Tsuna was once again sharing lunch with Yamamoto. He didn't forget to bring lunch; he just didn't bother because he knew the other boy would share. Besides, he was beginning to enjoy sharing lunch with him.

The final bell rang at last, and all three of them met up at the front gate.

They began walking down the street toward Ryohei's house, chatting animatedly when Yamamoto cursed suddenly.

"Sorry," he began immediately, noticing their stares.

Tsuna frowned. "You have something else to do today too?"

Yamamoto smiled and shook his head negative. "Nah, I just forgot that I didn't, uh, tell -- tell my _dad _where I'll be! I should go home and tell him."

"Here," Ryohei said, pulling a black cell phone out of his pocket, "you can use my cell phone to call him!"

The boy's eyes drifted to the offered cell phone before he smiled and raised his hands. "Sorry, but, my -- my house's phone is cut off! Yeah, no phone." He shrugged, his face apologetic.

"Okay," Tsuna said slowly, his eyes narrowing. "I'll just go with you."

"No!" Yamamoto cried. Tsuna and Ryohei stared at him curiously. He coughed and tried to play it off. "No, that's okay! I'll be right back, so just wait right here okay?"

He began to walk away and they both watched him go. When Yamamoto rounded the corner, Ryohei turned to him and asked, "Was he acting… strange to you?"

Tsuna nodded.

"Do you want to follow him?"

Tsuna looked at him as if the answer was obvious, "Duh!"

--

Ryohei and Tsuna peeked around a tree, their eyes on Yamamoto as he strode up to a purple-haired girl wearing the Namimori High School uniform. Her face lit up when he appeared.

They exchanged words, the girl blushing at something the boy said. The girl leaned forward suddenly and planted a kiss on his cheek. Yamamoto laughed and placed an arm around her shoulder.

They began walking.

Tsuna stared, a foreign feeling settling in his stomach as they finally disappeared.

"Aha!" Ryohei cried. "That must have been Yamamoto's girlfriend!"

Something constricted within him. _'Yamamoto has a girlfriend? Why didn't he ever say anything? Why didn't I ever see her in the hallways or at lunch?' _

Finally, as if struck by a train, Tsuna thought, _'What about my mission to seduce him…?'_

Ryohei shrugged and turned, beginning to head back towards their original spot so Yamamoto wouldn't be suspicious. Tsuna followed, almost in a daze.

But maybe that wasn't his girlfriend? Maybe it was… just a friend. Or a family member. If that was the case…

"Why was he being so secretive about it?" Tsuna wondered, not realizing he spoke aloud until Ryohei answered him.

"Maybe," Ryohei started, "he's embarrassed."

Tsuna looked at him, frowning. "Embarrassed? Nah… I don't think so. Yamamoto isn't the type to be embarrassed."

Ryohei nodded in agreement. "Then maybe he just wants to keep it a secret."

Before Tsuna could question him further, however, Yamamoto appeared around the corner, jogging to get to them quicker. When he stopped in front of them, his face was flushed and sweat was forming on his face. "Hey." He inhaled. "Hope I didn't keep you guys waiting too long."

Ryohei and Tsuna exchanged glances, silently agreeing to keep their spying a secret. "No!" the boxer said, trying to grin casually. "We, uh, we've been right here. This whole time. Didn't move an inch!"

Tsuna glared at him while Yamamoto just looked on curiously. "Okay," he said slowly. "So, lead the way?"

"Oh!" Ryohei jumped. "Right! To my house! Which is where we are--_oof!_"

Tsuna began to whistle, the picture of innocence.

--

The walk to Ryohei's house was awkward for Tsuna. He tried not to look Yamamoto directly in the eye, and when the boy placed an arm around his shoulder, he had to make a conscious effort not to throw it off.

'_I don't know where this arm has been,'_ Tsuna glared at said arm bitterly. _'Don't know who it__'s been__ wrapped around.'_

Thankfully, Ryohei and Yamamoto were able to have enough conversation for the three of them, so they didn't notice his silence.

They finally reached Ryohei's house and Natalie was out in the garden, trimming the rose bushes. Actually, it was more like she was _decapitating _them. She looked up when she saw them coming, her eyes shadowed by the large sunhatshe wore.

"Hey, mom!" Ryohei called, stopping in front of his mother.

"Hey, champ!" greeted Natalie, her grin visible from under her cap. "I see you brought company again." She stood, revealing the dirty apron she wore. Even though she was dressed for gardening and dirtied with soil, she still seemed to possess an air of authority around her.

Ryohei chuckled nervously and rubbed his forearm. "I hope you don't mind?"

She sighed, and Tsuna was sure she rolled her eyes. "No, I don't. But you'd better ask next time!" Her eyes landed on Tsuna and that predatory grin that made him shiver appeared. "Besides, you brought this cutie back!"

Tsuna blushed, and by the look on Natalie's face, he was sure he would have been in for a lot of cheek pinching if her hands weren't dirty. And he was positive it wouldn't have been limited to the ones on his face.

She finally caught sight of Yamamoto, who was partially hidden behind them. "And who's this handsome young man?"

Yamamoto stepped forward, a polite smile on his face. "I'm Takeshi Yamamoto. It's very nice to meet you Mrs. Sasagawa."

Natalie looked at him blankly. "What's with kids these days? Well, whatever. Call me Natalie."

Ryohei stepped forward with an exasperated noise in the back of his throat. "If you're done flirting with my friends, we have work to do."

He grabbed them both by the arm and began leading them into the house, and as he was about to close the door, Natalie called, "If you bring any more attractive boys home, I'm going to question your sexuality!"

"Mom!" Ryohei cried, outraged. He slammed the door, drowning out Natalie's boisterous laugh. It was the first time Tsuna had ever seen the boxer blush. "Don't listen to her! She's crazy!"

Yamamoto laughed, and it was so contagious that even Tsuna began to laugh, momentarily forgetting his annoyance at Yamamoto as they were forced to lean against each other since they were laughing so hard.

The sound of footsteps could be heard and Kyoko came down the stairs, a crying bundle held in her arms. "Big brother!" she cried, spotting him. "Will you please take Colonello for a minute?"

Ryohei frowned. "But I have company."

Kyoko made a sound of frustration, trying to hush the crying child. She looked up at him, her eyes wide and glistening like a kicked puppy's. "Please, big brother? Just for a second?"

He sighed and finally relented. As she handed him the small child, a grin on her face, Ryohei muttered, "You know I can't resist that face."

"Hi, Tsuna!" Kyoko called, catching sight of him.

Tsuna smiled. "Hello, Kyoko."

"Hey!" Kyoko cried, her eyes landing on Yamamoto. "Aren't you Takeshi Yamamoto, the baseball player?"

Yamamoto blinked and nodded.

"Do you know someone named Chrome Rokudo?"

He stiffened noticeably. However, before he could answer, Colonello began to renew his previous wailing. "Kyoko," Ryohei called, "go get his bottle!"

She cast a glance at Yamamoto before going to do as she was told.

"Come on," Ryohei said over the screams, "let's go up to my room!"

When they got to Ryohei's room, he began to bounce the baby around, trying to get the child to quiet down. Finally, Kyoko returned with a bottle in hand. Ryohei took the bottle and placed it in the child's mouth.

The crying stopped abruptly and was replaced with the sounds of quiet sucking.

Everyone sighed in relief.

Kyoko glanced at Yamamoto briefly, looking as if she wanted to ask something, before she shook her head, turned, and left the room.

"Sorry," Ryohei apologized, "my little brother can be pretty extreme. If he's not screaming his lungs out, he's sleeping the entire day away."

Yamamoto shrugged. "It's okay." He peered at the small child wrapped in a camouflage print sheet. The baby returned the stare with his large silver eyes before turning away, more interested in his bottle.

Laughing, Yamamoto looked over at Tsuna. "Isn't he cute?"

Tsuna smiled softly. He had to admit that the small blond-haired baby was indeed very cute.

Ryohei smiled as well, looking down at the small child held in his arms. He frowned suddenly and looked up. "But what are we going to do about our project?"

"We can still write the script, can't we?" Yamamoto asked.

"I guess so…"

"Then let's get started!"

--

They had been working on their project for only ten minutes when Colonello finished his bottle and began to cry. Again. And just as loud. Apparently, the kid had lungs of steel. Being loud must run in the family.

Ryohei tried to burp and play with the child, but it seemed to have no effect. Finally, when the crying grew too much, Ryohei groaned. "Here, Tsuna, hold Colonello for a second."

"Wh-what?!" Tsuna stared wide-eyed at the offered baby. "Me?!"

"Yeah."

"But-but… I don't know how to hold a baby!"

Ryohei sighed. "It's easy! You just hold him behind the head with one hand and hold his body with the other!"

Ryohei placed the baby gently in his arms, Tsuna doing exactly as Ryohei told him to. Colonello looked up at him with his big silver eyes and the crying began to dwindle down gradually. The small baby reached up with pudgy hand and tugged on a bunch of his hair. Hard.

Tsuna cried out in pain, causing the little baby to laugh happily.

Ryohei grinned. "He gets his extreme strength from dad! He's going to make a fine boxer one day!"

The baby once again pulled on Tsuna's hair, laughing happily as he did so.

Yamamoto laughed. "Awww! That's so cute! Tsuna will make a good mommy some day!"

Tsuna blushed and choked on air, staring at the grinning baseball nut in horror. Before he could respond, there was another tug on his brown locks that was followed by giggling.

"Hm." Ryohei was staring at him intently. "It seems as if Colonello likes you. I think you should hold him for the rest of the day."

"What?! But, uh… how will I write?" Tsuna asked, looking for any excuse to save his already sore scalp.

"I'll do it," Yamamoto volunteered, smiling. "Besides, the sight is just too cute to resist!"

Tsuna looked down at the child in his arms and wished he hadn't. Those big sparkling eyes were staring at him, and the toothless smile that only a baby could pull off was priceless. With a sigh, Tsuna relented.

There was another tug of his hair. Laughter ensued.

Tsuna sighed. _'What is it with babies enjoying my pain?!'_

--

Natalie finally came and took Colonello, but not before cooing and laughing along with everyone else at Tsuna's expense. Even Kyoko had giggled, but tried to hide it behind her hand when he looked at her.

With the baby gone and his scalp burning, they had only managed to finish half of their script by the time the sun was beginning to set.

There was a knock on the door and Kyoko's voice filtered through. "Dinner's ready, big brother!"

"Okay!" Ryohei called back. He turned toward them. "You guys want to stay for dinner?"

"Sure," Yamamoto smiled.

Ryohei turned an inquisitive look at him and Tsuna hesitated. Although he would like to stay, he didn't exactly want to remain in Yamamoto's presence for longer than he had to.

Although he was okay when Colonello was here as a distraction, with the small baby gone, the sick feeling had returned to his stomach full force. And every time he looked at Yamamoto, it only seemed to increase.

"Uh, sorry." He looked away, not wanting to see Ryohei's face; otherwise he might change his mind. "I have to get home."

"Oh, okay," Ryohei said softly, the sound of his disappointment evident in his voice. "Maybe next time?"

"Yeah… next time," Tsuna agreed, standing and gathering his things.

Yamamoto was staring at him, a frown on his face. "I'll walk you home."

"No!" Tsuna said quickly. "Uh, no, thank you." He smiled, trying to pacify them. Their gazes were still on him, but they didn't comment on his odd behavior.

Ryohei stood as well. "Then I'll walk you to the door."

They walked to the door in silence.

On the front porch, with the outside world behind him and Ryohei standing in front of him, Tsuna paused. "Ryohei, uh, it's not that I don't want to stay for dinner or anything--"

"I understand," Ryohei said.

"I mean, if I could--"

"It's okay, Sawada!"

With one final apology, Tsuna nodded, turned, and began walking away, the echo of the door slamming ringing in his ears. It really _wasn't _that he didn't want to stay, and he hoped Ryohei understood that. He hoped the other boy didn't think he didn't want to be friends or that he was purposefully ignoring him.

Tsuna sighed. He would just have to make it up to him tomorrow.


End file.
